As dawn quietly stirred the earth awake, a ray of morning sunlight pierced the silence of the night.
Fresh from his morning workout, Ethan took a quick shower, put on his wizard robes, and attempted to rouse Harry and Ron, who were still fast asleep, urging them to hurry up and join him for breakfast.
"Harry, Ron! Wake up, breakfast time!"
Ethan was doing his best to drag each of them out of bed, but every time he succeeded in lifting one, by the time he reached the other's bed, the first one would collapse back down into a limp heap.
"This could go on forever," Ethan's patience was rapidly evaporating. Hands on hips and slightly out of breath, he stared helplessly at the two sleeping like babies.
"Fine, since you leave me no choice, don't blame your big brother for resorting to drastic measures."
He first approached Ron's bed, gave him two firm slaps across the face, and then shook him vigorously. "Ron? Ron! What's wrong? Ron!"
"Hmm… What's going on?" Ron squinted, still half-asleep and groggy.
"You were having a nightmare—yelling and screaming. Nearly scared me to death," Ethan explained solemnly.
"Oh… yeah. I dreamt my mum was furious and kept slapping my face… Merlin, it felt so real. My face actually stings like I really got slapped," Ron said, gradually waking up and rubbing his cheeks as he sat up, recalling his recent "nightmare."
"Good thing you're awake now. Hurry up, wash up and get dressed, or we'll miss breakfast."
Next, Ethan moved to Harry's bedside, leaned down, and whispered ominously into his ear, "Harry, quick, wake up. Your aunt and uncle are here at Hogwarts to take you back home, and your cousin's plucked all your owl's feathers out."
Harry shot upright instantly, panic-stricken.
"What did you just say?" Harry's voice trembled slightly in horror.
"Nothing, just waking you up. Hurry and get ready. You don't want to start your first day of classes on an empty stomach, right?"
Ethan firmly hustled both boys into the washroom and exhaled deeply once he had them out of sight.
"I'm the eldest brother here, practically their father," he muttered to himself. "Don't stoop to their level—they're the protagonists."
Thanks to Ethan's determined efforts, Harry and Ron sat at the Great Hall's long table right on time, though both looked listless as they picked at their breakfast.
"You two don't look very well. Didn't sleep well last night?" Hermione asked from across the table, sounding concerned.
"You could say that. Had a nightmare. Luckily Ethan woke me up," Ron answered distractedly, spooning sugar into his porridge.
"It's nothing—just got startled awake rather unpleasantly. I'm fine now," Harry said, slicing his fried egg cautiously, the fright still lingering in his eyes.
Beside them, the culprit Ethan silently sped up the destruction of his bacon and smoked meat.
His conscience stung slightly—but only slightly.
"Flap flap flap flap—"
"The mail's here," Ron looked up toward the ceiling.
Hundreds of owls swooped through the small windows high above, flapping and fluttering around the tables until they located their respective owners and dropped letters or parcels onto their laps.
Ethan's black cat flew down to him as well, although it brought no mail. It affectionately rubbed against Ethan's hand, pecked a couple of bites from his plate, then flapped its wings and flew away.
"Your owl is really cool," Ron said enviously while opening his own mail. "I have to share an owl with my brothers—except Percy. Mum rewarded him with a new owl for becoming a prefect."
"You can always borrow Hedwig if you want," Harry chimed in, referring to his snowy owl.
"If you like, you can use my black cat too," Ethan generously offered with a wave of his hand.
"Thanks, but I appreciate the thought. It's just… I'd like something that's truly mine—my books, robes, even my wand are all hand-me-downs from my brothers," Ron smiled weakly at them, the bitterness evident.
"Hey, mind if I have a look at your newspaper?" Harry quickly changed the subject.
Ron nodded, and Harry unfolded the Daily Prophet, scanning the front page. Ethan leaned in as well, focusing on the small advertisements squeezed between articles.
"Hey, look at this! Someone broke into Gringotts!" Harry exclaimed, pointing at the headline. Ron and Ethan immediately turned their attention to the article.
Harry started reading aloud:
"'Gringotts Vaults Raided Twice in One Day. Preliminary investigations suggest two separate break-ins by unknown Dark Wizards.
"'Goblin officials at Gringotts confirmed the intrusion but stressed that nothing was stolen. Vaults 713 and 12, the targets of the intruders, had both been emptied earlier that same day.
"'A Gringotts spokesperson declined to comment on the contents of the vaults, advising against further speculation.'"
Harry looked up, puzzled. "Strange. Vault 713—that's the one Hagrid and I visited."
"What was inside?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Just a small package wrapped in cloth. I never saw what was in it," Harry shook his head.
Beside them, Ethan also frowned thoughtfully.
Vault 12—that was the vault he had visited yesterday with Professor Fig, containing the hidden passage to the Ancient Magic user's ruins.
Why had it been targeted? Was it merely a coincidence—were thieves after gold—or was someone specifically after the Ancient Magic?
Ethan buried the questions for now, deciding he'd later ask Professor Fig for more details.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Ethan, but please come with me."
Professor McGonagall's voice sounded behind Ethan. Quickly, he put down his knife and fork, stood up politely, and nodded respectfully.
"Of course, Professor."
Ethan waved goodbye to the trio and followed Professor McGonagall out of the hall.
"Pardon me, Professor, is there something I can help you with?"
Professor McGonagall stopped in the corridor outside, turning to face Ethan.
"This concerns your classes, Mr. Ethan. Given your unique situation of entering Hogwarts directly into your fourth year, you'll need to work doubly hard to catch up with your peers. After extensive discussions with the Headmaster and other professors, we've prepared a tailored curriculum for you."
"Here," she handed him a piece of parchment.
"This is your class schedule. For your first week, you'll attend lessons with the first-year students to familiarize yourself with Hogwarts' subjects. After class, stay behind—the professors have prepared additional assignments to help you catch up quickly. Professor Fig has repeatedly praised your remarkable talent, so I'm confident you'll manage admirably.
"That's all for now. Today you'll attend Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts with the first-years. Remember to be punctual. Transfiguration is my class—if you're late, even though I'm Head of Gryffindor, I won't hesitate to deduct points."
Professor McGonagall gave Ethan a meaningful smile before walking off. Ethan stared down at the packed timetable in his hands and sighed with a weary smile.
"What an explosively busy school life I've got myself into!"